Republicans proposed a military authorization bill for 2003 that took several controversial positions Progressives strongly opposed. The bill allowed testing for the use of nuclear weapons in "conventional" war, while Progressives felt nuclear combat of any kind was anathema; the bill gave the military an exemption from certain environmental laws for training exercises, while Progressives believed environmental laws could be enforced without threatening national security; and the bill paved the way for a missile defense system. Joining Progressives in opposition was Taylor (D-MS), who opposed the bill because he was not allowed to propose an amendment to stop the next round of military base closings. To gum up the works, Taylor moved to rise from the Committee of the Whole-an entirely procedural motion that required the House to spend time casting a vote. Progressives supported the motion because they favored stalling the forward march of the bill. The motion failed, 75-319, but victory was not the object: the object was to bring the House to a standstill in the hope that the Republican majority would be forced to change the bill, or at least to allow Progressives to propose amendments to it. This was only one of many attempts that together took debate into the small hours of the morning.